Hungarian foreign minister outrages for US sanctions against Putin’s Gazprombank

The inclusion of Russia’s Gazprombank on a United States sanctions list is an intentional step to jeopardise the secure energy supply of countries in Central and Eastern Europe, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in a post on Facebook on Friday.

“If anybody wants to jeopardise our energy supply security, either with sanctions or by shutting down transit deliveries, we consider it an attack on our energy sovereignty,” Szijjártó said. “We reject any attacks on our sovereignty; we will not bow to pressure and will not give up our national interests,” he added.

Szijjártó said Hungary was working with its partners on a solution and would meet with the energy ministers of Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria and Serbia to discuss the situation in Istanbul on Friday, adding that consultations with Slovakia were also underway.

Neagotiations with Pavel Sorokin, the first depuity of Russia’s energy minister. Photo: FB/Szijjártó

Regional cooperation condition for ensuring secure energy supply, says FM Szijjártó

Hungary must closely cooperate with Serbia, Bulgaria and Turkiye to find a solution to ensure secure energy supply amid external pressure, Szijjártó said at the Istanbul Energy Forum on Friday.

In a statement issued by his ministry, Szijjártó said secure energy supply was a matter of national security and sovereignty, but also about physical reality, removed from politics or ideologies. He added that energy mixes were for every nation to decide and any interference in that area was politically or economically motivated.

Photo: FB/Szijjártó

Endangering a country’s secure energy supply with sanctions or by blocking energy deliveries is an attack on national sovereignty, he said. “We reject all such initiatives which are especially heinous when they come without prior notice,” he added.

Szijjártó noted that the United States’ outgoing government had placed Russia’s Gazprombank on a sanctions list, which could pose a challenge for some countries in Central and Southeastern Europe.

Istanbul energy forum. Photo: FB/Szijjártó

“Therefore, we, the countries of the region, must and will closely work together to find a solution to ensure the secure energy supply of our countries amid the changed circumstances, regardless of any external pressure and attacks,” he said. He praised Serbia, Bulgaria and Türkiye for being dependable transit countries for energy deliveries. “We are not ready to swap dependable partners, especially if we haven’t got any better offer,” he added.

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